Top seed David Ferrer won his fifth ATP World Tour title of the season on Sunday after he beat his Spanish compatriot and second seed Nicolas Almagro 6-2, 6-2 in 68 minutes at the SkiStar Swedish Open.

“It has been the best season of my career, I have won five titles," said Ferrer. "I have never done this well and I am very happy for that. I work hard, I always fight every match and every year I try and improve on my game.

Ferrer now leads Almagro 11-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, after the third all-Spanish final in Bastad (1975, 2007).

Ferrer, who dropped one set in four matches en route to his 16th ATP World Tour title (16-15 overall), earned €64,700 in prize money and 250 South African Airways ATP Ranking points. Almagro received a cheque for €34,080 and won 150 points.

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In a battle between two former Bastad champions, 2007 titlist Ferrer took a 4-2 lead in the first set, then broke Almagro to 15 in the eighth game to clinch the opener after 31 minutes of play. Ferrer won 20 of his 29 service points against Almagro, the 2010 winner, in the second set. The World No. 5 improved to a 51-9 match record on the season.

World No. 10 Almagro, who also lost to Ferrer the Copa Claro final in February, dropped to a 12-6 record in ATP World Tour finals and to a 43-14 match record in 2012.

“Last year I played really good tennis," said Ferrer. "I am a better player than in 2007 when I won here. I work to improve my game. I don’t work to be in the Top 4. I work to be a better player and nothing else.

“I think the Top 4 are amazing players, and they are better than everyone else at this moment. I don’t think about the Top 4, I think about me and the Top 10.

“I got some good results on the grass courts and now I have won here in Bastad. Of course I have confidence [going into the London Olympics]. I will have two days of relaxing and then next week I will practice on grass.”

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